The Way It Is
by ifyougetedwardigetemmett
Summary: Beginning from the beginning. This does NOT follow the told story line. A story about discovering, learning, and growing. Starting with Bones and Booth's first meeting.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is an idea for a fan fiction that I came up with about 10 minutes ago. So, yeah. **

**Disclaimer : I do not own Bones. Or Booth. Or anything here. Only the plot. **

_September 16__th__, 1991_

Temperance Brennan sat quietly in a booth at The Royal Diner. Her blue eyes were entirely focused on the thick book in her hands. _Jane Eyre_. Her nose was wrinkled in distaste as she read, making her feelings about the book clear.

"Miss?" A voice interrupted her reading. Temperance looked up to see a waitress, giving her a slightly impatient look. "Miss, you have to order something if you plan on staying here." The waitress continued.

Temperance glanced at the specials board quickly. She saw nothing that appealed to her, and simply ordered a plate of fries.

When the waitress had gone, Temperance counted the money she had in her pocket. Ten dollars. She let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't been sure if she could afford the fries.

At 16, Temperance was in her third foster home. The year before she'd watched her brother, Russ, leave her behind and never come back. Since his shocking departure, Temperance had isolated herself, keeping a distance between her foster families and herself. Instead, she threw herself into her school work, studying sciences rigorously. She'd found her interest in anthropology. Her cold disposition often seemed to be the cause of her being sent back into foster care.

She looked and her novel, again wrinkling her nose. The forbidden love story between Mr. Rochester and Jane was driving her insane. To her, both seemed incredibly irrational and were being played by the chemicals spiking lust. True love didn't exist, of course.

"Excuse me?" A male voice interrupted her thoughts. Irradiated at being bothered for the second time in a row, Temperance looked up.

The boy before her was well built, more a man than a boy. He had a slightly cocky air about him that she found annoying. He was casually dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. "Can I sit here?" He asked her, smiling coyly.

She looked at him, confused. "Why?"

He seemed surprised at her answer. "Because I'd like to have something to eat."

The man's answer did nothing to clear Temperance's confusion. "Traditionally, people sit in their own booths when they come to a restaurant."

The man shrugged and sat down without invitation. "This isn't a restaurant, it's a diner."

"That is very specific, but the same customs apply." Temperance answered, her voice clipped.

The man shrugged again, irritating Temperance. She stood, collecting her book. "If you want something to eat, you can have those fries." With that she left.

Behind her, the man stood. "Wait!" He called. Temperance paused at the door, looking at back at him. "What's your name?"

"Temperance Brennan." Temperance answered. "Why?"

"Traditionally," The man said, grinning smartly, "people introduce themselves when they meet new people. I'm Seeley Booth."

Temperance nodded once before continuing on her way.

Seeley munched on one fry, left by Temperance. Temperance, he thought again. The name suited her well. Then he froze, realizing he would pay for the plate of fries.

**Do I continue? Review, pretty please!**

**~~Luvyas!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! **

_September 21__st__, 1992_

Temperance sat once again in the Royal Diner. It seemed this week she'd been here every day. She always sat in the same booth, always ordered the same thing. Her money was wasting away quickly, even with her small part time job at the museum down the street.

She'd been working there for a few months, since the beginning of summer break. She found balancing it with her school work easy enough, seeing as she'd picked anthropology, chemistry, biology, functions and calculus this year, along with her required English, a literacy course, and, with great reluctance, physics.

Now her gaze was focused on this month's issue of _The Scientist_. She read about a dig in China, searching for details about what had been found.

"Temperance Brennan?" A voice, laced with shock, disturbed her reading. It was a voice she barely recalled, having heard it more than one year ago. She looked up and was met with the surprised face of one Seeley Booth.

"Hello, Seeley." Temperance said distantly. Already her attention was heading back to the dig in China.

"May I sit down?" Seeley asked, making Temperance look at him again. Her blue eyes were confused as to why he was so shy. Last time she'd seem him he'd been very forward.

Temperance shot a quick look at the other booths in the diner. They were all full of people eating their lunches and conversing, so she really had no where to send him. Resigned, she nodded for him to sit opposite her.

Seeley sat heavily. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly when Temperance went back to her reading. "You know," he said, "usually, when people sit together, they talk."

Temperance flicked her eyes up to meet his. "Generally, when people sit together, they know each other quite well. I do not know you at all, and therefore have nothing to converse about."

Seeley was obviously uncomfortable. "Are you always this abrupt?" he asked.

Before Temperance could answer, a young girl passed by and replied, "Yes she is. Temperance just doesn't know how to be _normal_, do you Temperance? She's always with the janitor, cutting dead things open." The blonde wrinkled her nose. Then she turned her attention on Seeley. "I don't know you, do I? I'm Sandra, a friend of Temperance's." She put her hand on Temperance's shoulder, recoiling slightly.

"No, that's not true at all," Temperance said, completely baffled. "You and I are not friends, Sandra. In fact, I could barely consider us acquaintances. You and I do not know each other at all, other than each other's name. In fact, I don't even believe you've talked to me since freshman year."

Sandra giggled self-consciously. "Oh, has it been _that_ long, Temperance? I'm sure you wrong there."

"No, I am not mistaken. I'm quite sure of it." Still confused, Temperance went back to her magazine. At least the science made _sense_. She was barely aware of Sandra trying to chat Seeley up, to which he declined kindly.

"You cut dead things open?" Seeley's voice interrupted Temperance's reading once again. Irritated, she looked up.

"Yes, I perform simple dissections on dead animals, such as rabbits or squirrels. I find the anatomy interesting."

Seeley swallowed hard, slightly repulsed. He was not a fan of science, and never took the biology course that had required dissections. "And cutting dead animals open doesn't make you feel bad at all?"

Temperance was often asked that question, even though it never made sense to her. "No. Why should it? The animal is dead. It doesn't feel the scalpel." She picked up a fry and chewed it quietly, her eyes drifting back to images of the archeological dig.

"How old are you, Temperance?" Seeley asked.

The question was strange to Temperance. Why should he care how old she was? "Seventeen, why?"

"Just wondering. You seem older. I'm nineteen, by the way." Seeley said.

Temperance blinked for a moment before saying, "That's nice." She ate a few more fries.

"I've decided to enlist in the army." Seeley continued.

"Interesting choice," Temperance said, this time keeping her eyes on the magazine. "But judging by the muscle in both your upper and lower body, you should do fine as a soldier."

Seeley flexed his arm slightly, a cocky grin forming on his face. "You think so?"

"Yes." Temperance was starting to get annoyed by the chatter. She was used to isolation, not being bothered by anyone. Her answers were becoming shorter and more clipped.

"Always glad to impress." Seeley said, the grin still on his face.

"I don't know what that means." Temperance muttered, still focused on the magazine.

"It means I'm glad that you noticed that I'm strong. That you're impressed." Seeley explained as though it were the most obvious thing it the world. Which it was, to him.

"Although I never stated that I was in fact impressed with your apparent strength, I will say that your muscle mass is quite large and any female would be drawn to it." Temperance answered.

"Does that include you?" Seeley leaned forward, snatching a few of the remaining fries on the plate.

Temperance flushed slightly and didn't answer.

**c: Did you like it? Yes, no? **

**Also, Review challenge!  
Tell me the craziest thing your parents have ever said in front of you. The person with the wierdest thing gets a SNEAK PEAK at the next chapter! **

**Yay!**

**~~Luvyas**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi there! I decided chapter 3 didn't have enough in it...so here it is with a little more info...**

Temperance read her textbook casually. Her organized mind allowed her to store the information where she could reach in and pull it from as needed. She was reading about the recently discovered coelacanth, a fish from the Devonian period. Though her interests lay more in anthropology and human bones, she found the discovery quite interesting.

"Temperance, are you ever not in the library?" Temperance looked up. Her gaze met Andrew's eyes. He was smiling, and carrying a rather large pile of thick books in his arms. Temperance reached out and grabbed one that had started to slip off the pile. The caught sight of the title and smiled.

"You're reading _On the Origin of Species?" _She smiled. Charles Darwin's book had been one of her favorites.

Andrew pulled out the chair facing her and sat, dropping the books onto the table, earning a glare from a passing professor.

Temperance had met Andrew in her first lecture during their first year of university. The two of them had chatted idly.

"Yes, I am." Andrew dragged the book back to him. "It's quite interesting."

"Yes, I remember." Temperance told him. She went back to reading about the coelacanth.

At the age of 22, Temperance had changed very little in the way of appearance. Her hair was shorter that it used to be, and she was maybe an inch taller, but other than that she hadn't changed.

Temperance and Andrew sat at their table, both of them reading their books, for another 3 hours without conversation.

* * *

Seeley was 24. After his years in the army, he'd gotten to a rank of Master Sergeant. He was a sniper, with a total of 50 deaths on his hands. They made him feel heavy.

Now he was beginning his career in the FBI. He fixed his black tie nervously. He was standing behind his partner, Special Agent David Bourque, in a meeting with their boss, Agent Fitzgerald. They were discussing Agent Bourque's occasional meetings with the Jeffersonian Institute. They talked about the Scientists' opinion on a case that had been closed two years ago. With each word, Seeley disliked the scientists more and more. They seemed like cold people, with closed minds and high enough IQ's to feel like they didn't need anything else. Seeley hoped he would never be put in the clearly uncomfortable Bourque was in now. It was obvious he was not fond of them either. He called them "the squints". Seeley found it rather fitting.

"Agent Booth." Agent Fitzgerald said. He sounded annoyed; like it wasn't the first time he'd tried to catch Seeley's attention.

"Sir?" Seeley answered nervously.

"There's a meeting with the squints tonight. Can you replace Bourque?" He was clearly irritated.

"Oh. Yes sir." Seeley nodded, embarrassed. He didn't like to be caught off guard, as Agent Fitzgerald had just done.

* * *

"You're Special Agent Booth?" A female voice caught him off guard. Booth turned around and came face to face with a very pretty woman. No, Booth decided, she was not pretty. She was sexy. Her flawless skin was a dark tan and her hair was tied up high on her head to keep it from trailing in anything. . Her brown eyes were warm and welcoming. She was wearing a black contamination suit.

"Yes." Booth grinned at her. "You are?"

The beautiful woman held out her hand. Booth shook it, holding it a moment too long. "Dr. Camille Saroyan. It's a pleasure to meet you. I was expecting Agent Bourque."

"He had a previous commitment." Booth told her diplomatically. He looked quickly at their surroundings. A small car was burned beyond belief, and Booth knew there was a set of human remains in it. He felt slightly nauseated at the thought. The smell was sickening; like burning rubber and more scents Booth didn't recognize.

His disgust must have shown on his face because Camille Saroyan laughed. "Burned flesh isn't a good smell, I know. Then it mixes with the burning car and well, we get this delightful scent." She offered him a mask, and he slipped it on at the same time she put on hers. "Let's go check out this body." She said, sounding almost enthusiastic.

Booth saw the disappointment on Dr. Saroyan's face when she saw the body. He didn't understand when she shook her head and backed away.

"Give up already?" He raised his eyebrows.

Camille looked up and him and lifted an eyebrow gracefully. "Agent Booth, I am a coroner. I can work very well with remains… when they have flesh."

Booth looked again at the remains in the car. He'd avoided looking at them last time, but now he really looked. "Almost all the skin is gone." He discovered.

Camille nodded. "And the organs, and the cartilage, and all that other stuff that I can work with."

Booth nodded. "So what do we do now?" He felt almost hopeless.

Dr. Saroyan slipped off her gloves and threw them in what Booth assumed was a garbage. "Not my business." She said drily, and began walking away.

"Whoa, there!" Booth chased after her. "What do you mean? I thought this," he gestured towards the car, "was part of your job description!"

"It is when there is flesh." Dr. Saroyan spoke slowly, as though he didn't understand what she was saying. "Agent Booth, I can be of help when what I am trained with is present on the remains," she meant flesh, "but when it is not I do not participate in the case." She signed a piece of paper a young girl had thrust towards her. "Tell Agent Bourque I give him my best. And good luck with the case." And with that, Camille Saroyan got in her car and left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again! Here is chapter four :) **

_2003_

"Dr. Brennan, you certainly do have an impressive resume," Dr. Daniel Goodman told Temperance in his deep voice, flipping through the papers that described Temperance's 3 PhD's. Temperance sat, back straight, knees together, on the other side of Dr. Goodman's desk.

Dr. Goodman was an archeologist turned administrator, and the director of the Jeffersonian institute, where Temperance was applying for a job.

"Thank you, Dr. Goodman." Temperance inclined her head. "I feel quite confident that I would do very well, were I to work at the Jeffersonian."

Dr. Goodman's lips curved into a small smile, and he raised his eyes to look at Temperance. "Yes, well. I can certainly agree. Like I said, your resume is certainly impressive. You seem to have been on quite a few anthropological digs."

Temperance nodded. "Yes, I find them quite informative and naturally I like to be a part of any anthropological discoveries." She told him, her voice professional and clipped.

"I see." Dr. Goodman nodded and frowned slightly. "If I were to hire you, would you often leave to go on such digs?" Obviously this was one of Dr. Goodman's main concerns; he didn't want to hire someone who would never be in the lab.

Temperance seemed oblivious to his concern, but answered honestly. "Of course I would go on the occasional dig, but only with your permission. I would most certainly see the work to be done here as my first priority." She told him.

The crease between Dr. Goodman's eyes disappeared and he nodded, pleased. Then he stood, placed Temperance's resume on his desk and walked over to Temperance, offering his hand. Temperance stood, smoothing her pencil skirt and shaking Dr. Goodman's hand.

"I would like to offer you the job, Dr. Brennan. You seem to be dedicated to anthropology." Dr. Goodman told her, smiling kindly. He was quite a bit taller than Temperance, but her shoes made up for a couple inches.

"I gladly accept, Dr. Goodman." She gave him a small smile. "I would like to start as soon as possible." She told him, honest as always.

Dr. Goodman was not surprised. "Let me show you your office, Dr. Brennan." He let the way out of his own office, walking next to his new employee. They passed the platform, where a doctor was looking through a microscope. Dr. Goodman stopped when he saw the other man.

"Ah! Dr. Hodgins, why don't you come meet our new anthropologist." He called to the man. Dr. Hodgins looked up in surprise; clearly he hadn't noticed the two doctors walk by. When he did he pulled off the latex gloves he'd been wearing and came down the stairs of the platform. He grinned at Temperance, offering her a hand, which she shook.

"Dr. Temperance Brennan." She introduced herself.

Dr. Hodgins grinned and replied, "Dr. Jack Hodgins. I'm the entomologist." He had wild curly hair and a charming grin. He put his hands into the pockets of his blue lab coat.

Dr. Brennan nodded. Dr. Goodman waited for Temperance to answer. When he saw that she had no intention of doing so, he awkwardly joined into the failing conversation.

"I was just showing Dr. Brennan to her office." He told Dr. Hodgins.

"Ah. Well, I look forward to working with you, Dr. Brennan."

"Most people would look forward to working with a renowned anthropologist such as myself." Temperance told him, nodding her head. "It comes from old traditions of wanting to be close to power, which then gives power." Temperance liked to tell facts.

Dr. Hodgins raised his eyebrows ever so slightly, looking vaguely impressed. "O…kay. I'll see you later."

Temperance nodded once again and she and Dr. Goodman continued on their way to her new office.

**You like? I'm trying to keep everyone in character.  
Soon we meet Angela :) **

**REVIEW CHALLENGE = WHAT IS THE STRANGEST ANIMAL NAME YOU HAVE EVER HEARD?**

**~~Luvyas!**


End file.
